24 November 2012 04:00

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Everton FC player Seamus COleman
SOCIAL media sites like Twitter have myriad positive uses – but among its equally numerous downsides is a tendency to elevate the utterances of morons into an arena far beyond the rocks beneath which they reside.
Take the example of the dunces who were quick to make brainless anti-Irish jibes about Seamus Coleman in the wake of his error at Reading last weekend which gifted Reading the game’s eventual winner from the spot.
Such was their inability to process their anger at a frustrating defeat, they picked on the obvious scapegoat their tiny minds could ascertain and let rip.
Not only did they subsequently embarrass themselves, they ended up embarrassing the club they claim to support when Irish media picked up on the taunts and sought an official response from Everton’s media and publications manager Darren Griffiths.
Coleman is the sort of player that does Everton proud on and off the pitch.
Polite, grounded and happy to engage with fans he is a credit – a million miles from the egos of some Premier League prima donnas.
He is on a steep learning curve in the Premier League, playing in his preferred position of right back in a team which as a whole is not defending convincingly – even if it is attacking with more panache than ever.
Seamus Coleman's Opta stats so far this season
And while his errors have proven costly in recent weeks, his other contributions have been valuable, not least an excellent cross for Nikica Jelavic’s goal against Southampton at Goodison.
It’d be wrong, however, to start pigeon-holing the former Sligo Rovers star as a defender who can’t defend but shines on the offensive.
Coleman’s defensive ability at the top level is a work in progress, but he is best placed to learn from a host of experts in team-mates like Tony Hibbert, Phil Neville and Leighton Baines, and learn he will.
This is a player who puts plenty of effort into improving his game away from the training ground, studiously absorbing the reams of technical and tactical information dispensed to the squad as a sort of ‘home-work’ over the pre-season months.
Patience and perseverance will be lost on the idiots who resort to racist name-calling on Twitter to make their point, but they are not qualities lost on Coleman. He will keep plugging away, and deserves every right-thinking fans support as he does.
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